8.29.030 Minimum Levels of Curbside Recyclables Service for Single-family Residences

8.29.030 Minimum Levels of Curbside Recyclables Service for Single-family Residences.

The minimum levels of service for residential curbside collection in unincorporated Pierce County shall include the following:

1. Collection companies shall offer every-other-week (EOW), single-stream curbside collection of recyclables to all single-family residences.

2. The collection companies shall provide the curbside recycling collection alternative with all combinations of garbage can service approved by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) for their respective franchise areas.

3. The collection services to the customers should preferably be on the same day as garbage collection, unless the collection company can demonstrate to the County that an alternative collection schedule is necessary because of geographic or development limitations, such as road width or density, that require an alternative truck system or collection schedule.

a. The hauler shall identify the location of the area affected; the alternative collection schedule; and the reasons supporting the alternative.

b. The County shall consider whether the number of customers affected is minimized; that program participation is not adversely affected; whether there is substantial cost savings due to the alternative schedule; whether an alternative collection schedule can result in higher levels of participation and recycling; and other information presented by the hauler.

1. Collection companies shall provide one wheeled container of approximately 96 gallons to each of their single-family customers signed up for curbside recycling collection.

2. Collection companies shall provide a process for customers to request and receive an alternative 65-gallon wheeled container for those customers who feel they do not generate enough recyclables to fill the standard size container or who feel its size is too unwieldy for them to move or store.

3. The containers shall be made of durable plastic materials and manufactured using a maximum percentage of recycled materials that meet specifications.

4. All containers shall contain, or have attached, information about the proper preparation of materials and with a telephone number and name of the certified hauler. The information may be stamped into the container, on a water-proof sticker, a combination of both, or some other alternative which provides the customer with sufficient permanent information to be able to contact the hauler.

5. Replacement of the containers necessitated by normal use or by container damage due to the haulers negligence shall be the responsibility of the hauler. Replacement necessitated by container damage or loss due to the customer's negligence shall be at the customer's expense.

C. Exceptions: Collection Alternatives for Restricted Access or Storage Situations, or for Residents with Limited Mobility.

1. Criteria: Collection companies shall have a process in place to work cooperatively with residents to tailor the single-stream recycling collection service to meet the needs of residents in situations where:

a. Private driveways are inaccessible or incapable of withstanding the weight of collection trucks and collection of recyclables or garbage cannot be provided under the approved drive-in rate tariff for such situations;

b. Because of long, steep and/or winding driveways, a resident would have difficulty in moving a large recycling container, manually or by vehicle, from their house to the public access road for collection;

c. A resident could not provide a storage place to keep recycling or garbage containers at the end of the driveway close to the public access road;

d. Truck access or container size is in any way otherwise restricted due to density and road width or where outside container storage is limited by home owner association covenants, or

e. Residents with special needs, such as physical infirmity or physical limitations, need reasonable accommodation.

2. Alternatives: Collection companies shall offer alternatives that suit their collection system or the particular customer's limitation. The alternatives may include:

a. A drive-in tariff rate for those situations where a recycling truck can negotiate the long-driveway and where the driveway can support the weight of the truck.

b. Allowing the customer to use a multi-bin source-separation set-out system with no additional cost above the basic tariffed recycling rate;

c. Providing the customer with a 32-gallon container capable of being lifted and dumped by the company's recycling collection truck in the same manner as the 96 and 65-gallon containers with no additional cost above the basic tariffed recycling rate; or

d. Any other solution mutually agreed to by the customer and the solid waste collection company.

3. Monitoring: Collection companies shall:

a. Have a written process for how customers may request an alternative and the steps the company will take to work with the customer to develop a solution.

b. Maintain an updated list of customers who have requested an alternative collection system, a description of the problem and of the chosen solution, or how the problem was otherwise resolved, and will provide an annual list to Pierce County.

4. Nothing in this Section requires residential customers to participate in the recycling collection program or prevents residents from transporting recyclables to drop-off recycling sites.

5. Nothing in this Section would prevent or require collection companies from developing a centralized drop-off site in neighborhoods where such access problems are clustered or where covenants prevent outside storage of containers.

D. Materials Collected. The following recyclable materials, at a minimum, shall be collected from single-family residences when properly prepared and meeting the material description as specified:

1. Cardboard – corrugated cardboard and Kraft paper, including unbleached, unwaxed paper with a ruffled ("corrugated") inner liner.

2. Metal cans – tin-coated steel cans and aluminum cans.

3. Mixed-waste paper – clean and dry paper, including: glossy papers, magazines, catalogs, phone books, cards, laser-printed white ledger paper, windowed envelopes, paper with adhesive labels, paper bags, non-metallic wrapping paper, packing paper, glossy advertising paper, and chipboard, such as cereal and shoe boxes.

4. Newspaper – printed groundwood newsprint, including glossy advertisements and supplemental magazines that are delivered with the newspaper.

5. Plastic bottles and jars – primarily polyethylene terephthalate (PET – #1), such as soft drink, water, and salad dressing bottles; and high-density polyethylene (HDPE – #2) such as milk, shampoo, or laundry detergent bottles; but including any bottle with a neck narrower than its base.

E. Optional Materials. Nothing in this Chapter shall prohibit a hauler from exceeding the minimum requirements by collecting additional materials, such as glass, foodwaste, scrap metal, or other types of plastic.

F. Amending the list of required materials. Prior to proposing any amendments to the list of materials to be collected, the County will discuss any proposed changes with the haulers.

G. Recycling collection rates. Collection companies shall request the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) to approve a rate structure which includes the costs to implement the single-stream residential curbside recycling program contained in these minimum levels of service. The collection companies shall include the following elements in the tariffs submitted to the WUTC:

1. A rate structure designed to provide customers with adequate options and incentives to reduce their level of solid waste collection service as a result of their participation in waste reduction and recycling programs. This should include an inverted rate structure where, at any given level, the cost of providing garbage and recycling services to a residential customer must be less expensive than the provision of garbage service alone. For one 32- gallon can service, this difference should be a minimum of $1.00; for two 32-gallon or one 65-gallon can(s) service, a minimum of $2.00; and for three 32-gallon or one 96-gallon can(s), a minimum of $3.00.

2. A weekly, 20-gallon mini-can garbage rate combined with every-other-week recycling collection; or a comparable alternative, such as a rate for every-other-week or monthly garbage collection with recycling. The rate for these services shall include the cost of recycling collection but shall be less than the cost of a weekly 32-gallon can garbage service or, if applicable, a weekly 65-gallon can garbage service.

3. Collection costs shall be distributed throughout the service area to all single-family rate payers and should include the collection company's administration costs.

4. The rates shall include the costs of the containers. The rates shall include the costs for any stickers to be placed on the containers.

5. Collection rates shall include a separate delivery service fee equal to or less than the replacement cost of the bins. This service replacement cost shall not apply to the first-time delivery of the standard-sized container, or for the first-time delivery of a smaller-sized container when the smaller size is requested by the customer.

6. The rates shall include the haulers' costs for the mutually-agreed-upon coordinated public outreach program, monitoring set-out participation, and any other costs for the data reporting system required by the County.

7. The haulers shall capitalize and amortize the equipment costs over a minimum of seven years.